Re: The Spanish Language in the US- Taboos and Complexes.

phoglund@xxxxxx wrote:

Peter T. Daniels wrote:
InspiredPoet wrote:


As all the respondents noted, he omitted the only salient piece of
information: how well does he speak the language?

I speak it the way a university student, native speaker of another
language would speak English after passing a TOEFL. Which is it is
fluent, literary but I do have a slight accent which does not interfere
with communication. I speak it somewhat like Kissinger speaks English.

I had replies back to me in English not because of the level of my
Spanish, I feel, but because of my physical appearance- I do not look
like an average Mexican or Puerto Rican or Dominican, and because of a
place where I was- New York, San Juan, Tijuana, LA neighborhoods.

This as a rule would not happen in Uruguay or Argentina because I
looked like the locals who are mostly Europeans. And people would ask
me for directions. In Spanish. Not in the US. Ever. "Whatcha doin'
white bo--oy?!."

I have an Argentinean friend who is a native Spanish speaker but he is
not a Mestizo and he lives in SF and the Latinos do not want to speak
to him in Spanish even though he is native speaker. His social skills
are Latin American, but something happens in the US with Latinos. Some
complex develops. They do not talk to him in Spanish. His hair is not
black enough.

As far as social skills, etc. I apply the same social skills in
Argentina and the US and in Argentina the result is: people talk back
to me in Spanish but in the US a chest is puffed up and a look down
their noses follows. So, it is not just ME. It is THEM, too.

So it turns out, from the last three paragraphs, that you're a
garden-variety racist. Go away.

Would you please stop intimidating him. Frankly, it was quite lousy of
you to call him a racist.

Do you have a politer word for the sentiments he expressed?
--
Peter T. Daniels grammatim@xxxxxxx
.

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